Baconville

How do you do on soft foods like Greek Yogurt, tuna with some light mayo, or a scrambled egg? Have you tried light cheese sticks? Are you able to tolerate Water and Protein shakes? Many people really struggle for a long time with any type of meat, you may be one that just can't eat meat. I have just added rice in now, a year after surgery. I would suggest you stay away from all fruits, veggies, and carbs for now. My clinic suggested that you only add one new food a day. That way if you do react badly, you will know what caused it. I will watch for your response and will try to help more when I have more info. Carol

CTRose, Thank you so much for your post. Hearing from people like you, with your life experiences, is so helpful. I am sure 40 pounds seems like a insurmountable number, but you can do it. Just like you can help all of us, we are here to help and support you. I have found together we can do ANYTHING! Carol

I too am very interested in this. I am at my low weight and have entered maintenance. My maintenance plan is to keep my calories between 900 - 1000 and my Protein between 60 - 80 grams a day. I was really given no other guidance, which I am finding very disappointing. I am very afraid of regaining my weight. I seem able to eat much more than they told me I should be able to eat, much more than the one cup at a meal. On top of that, I have yet to have experience dumping, even when I have cheated with sweets or fatty food. I don't seem to have the deturants that normally come with RNY. My RNY was on 6/25/13, so I am a bit over 13 months out. I have lost 205 pounds, 92% of my excess weight. I have a normal BMI for the first time in my life. I want to keep my weight where it is now. I track everything I eat on MFP. So far, I am maintaining, but I really fear if this is something I can do forever. What will happen if I have a couple of weak days in a row!? I too need help in this phase. I want to be confident that this new healthy lifestyle is one I can live for decades to come. I need to learn the skills to do this. Carol

WOOT WOOT!!!! Great news!! When are you doing it? I want details, I would love to have it done, but I don't know if I have the guts, not to mention money! So very happy for you!

WOW!!! I am definitely in that category - I hope it passes me by! Sorry you had to go through all of that but glad you are better now. Carol

Well, I am not in ND, I am in the Twin Cities, but I know the area well. I have family about 50 miles west of Grand Forks. I had RNY on 6/25/13. I have lost 205 pounds and have reached my goal weight. I am maintaining between 125 - 130 pounds. If you have questions or would just like some support, send me a message. I am happy to help any way that I can.

I have mine set based on my Protein goals and now that I am on maintenance on calorie goals. While I was losing, I really paid attention to the protein and didn't really watch fat or carbs. I was not eating many carbs anyway and fat is not a big concern because we don't absorb it like we used to. Obviously, protein is critical, so that is what I focused on. Good luck! I find it a very valuable tool and would be lost without it. Carol

Thank you for the update! I have been thinking about you. I am glad that you have found a way to get back in control. Remember these first couple weeks are going to be the worst - prepare yourself to keep your determination up. I am just a year out, but I have reached my goal weight and am trying to maintain - something I have NEVER done in my life. I have lost 205 pounds. I still have a very difficult relationship with food, and constantly am pulled to want to make bad choices. So far I have been able to fight that off. I am very afraid of gaining the weight back because I seem to be able to eat much more than I should and I have yet to dump on any food that I have tried. I even had a scoop of real strawberry ice cream with no problems - I have only done this one time, on vacation! I attribute my success to MyFitnessPal.com. I continue to use it everyday. It keeps me accountable and lets me know at a glance where I am at. Even on days that I give into my head hunger or a craving I record it. Keep up the awesome job!! You have what you need to do this and we are here to support you!! Carol

Get on MyFitnessPal.com. I lost 40 pounds in th 10 weeks before my surgery on June 25, 2013. I got set up on the website then downloaded the app. I am on maintenance now - I have lost 205 pounds. I use MyFitnessPal.com religiously. I believe that it has been the key to my success and will be the key to long term weight management. Good Luck! Carol

If I have a choice, I pick a restaurant that is either a national chain ( so I can research the menu on line for what items would give me the most Protein for the fewest calories) or serves Breakfast foods all day. My 'go to' item early on was two Egg Beaters scrambled or prepared omelet style. Worked great! Even a year out I is still order this, I just normally add a fruit cup to it. I will say that I do avoid eating out as much as possible. It is so much easier to be successful when you know exactly how the food you are eating is prepared. Good luck! Carol

This is very common. I have lost 205 pounds, I had RNY on 6/25/13. My problems are at work. I work in a very small office, 14 female employees. Before surgery I was accepted and had great relationships with my co-workers. Since losing the weight I have been told that they don't like the sound of my voice and that they don't feel that I contribute anything meaningful to any conversation. When my boss told me this, she was adamant that she is thrilled with the work that I do. Believe me, it was hard to hear. In the end, this is THEIR problem, not yours. You do not need these negative, overweight people in your life anymore. As you lose your weight you will get out more, go to exercise classes and make new healthier friends. Sometimes we need to lose more than the weight to be happy and healthy. In the end you will be happier without these so called friends in your life. Carol

At the beginning the only thing I was able to do was a recumbent elliptical at the YMCA. I could not even do 20 minutes on the treadmill due to such horrible knee pain. I lived on Advil. As the weight came off I was diligent about increasing my exercise. My first class was Body Pump at the YMCA. This is a weight lifting class. I started with 2.5 lb weights, I now lift 20 pounds. I still do this class once or twice a week. Now I also do a Turbo Kick class and my favorite is Zumba, both of which I do twice a week. I also walk everyday at lunch, about a two mile walk in about 45 minutes. One thing that really worked for me was to increase my exercise whenever my weight loss began to stall. Believe me, I am nobody special. If I can do this so can you! Keep moving forward, it really is worth it! Carol

I would also encourage you to track what you are eating on MyFitnessPal.com. I have found it a very valuable tool and truely believe that it will be key to my long term success. If you have not tried it, or have not been on in a while, give it another look. Good luck! Keep us posted on how you are doing.

My pre-op stats were very similar to yours. 48 Year Old Female 5'2" 331 pounds (291 on date of surgery) High Blood Pressure sleep Apnea Mobility Issues (knees and low back) I had RNY on June 25, 2013. I have lost a total of 205 pounds (current weight 126 pounds). I have no knee or low back pain. My blood pressure and sleep apnea have completely resolved. I have NEVER had dumping and have - very rarely - had sweets or fatty foods (in small quantities). I have yet to find a food that I enjoyed pre-surgery that I cannot enjoy at least a bite of now. That said, I choose to eat very differently now. The past year has been an incredible journey. RNY has been a miracle for me and I NEVER want to go back to having to live in that morbidly obese body again! Life is wonderful! This has just been my experience. I am glad I choose RNY. It is the "Gold Standard" and the one they know the most about. I would do it again in a heartbeat - my only wish is that I had done it years ago. Carol

The first week just getting in your fluids and protein is a full time job. Week two I had that part down. I began to increase exercise. I actually took four 15 minute walks throughout the day. I did read and watch TV/movies. By week three I was so ready to go back to work - you can only do so much reading and TV watching! Good luck!!

If you are not tolerating foods that you had been able to tolerate before - going backwards - it could be the beginnings of a stricture. I would recommend that you call your clinic - especially if this has been going on for 3 -4 days now. Let us know how you are doing. Carol

I was in for one night. Went in very early - 5:30 AM - on Tuesday. I was home by 3:00 pm on Wednesday. I had an RNY, laproscopically with no complications. Good luck! Carol

Funny thing about stairs - I still find myself approaching the stairs, gripping the handrail and taking that first step down very carefully waiting for that knife stabbing pain. Then there is NO PAIN! I can actually RUN up AND DOWN stairs now. I still find it amazing!! You will get there too. If you need any support along the way, send me a message. I have received so much help for the folks on this site, and I am happy to pay it forward. Carol

18 YEARS of being able to maintain!!! That is wonderful! You are an inspiration to me. I am just a year post op and have entered maintenance. So far I am succeeding, but there are days that it is really a struggle. I think time will give me more confidence that I can be where I am now for the rest of my life. Thank you for posting! Carol

Hi Carmen, I hope that I can provide some inspiration. I am 13 months post op - my new life (RNY) began on June 25, 2013. When I began my journey in January, 2013, I weight 331 pounds - I am only 5'2". I am 49 years old and was not able to work out. I had high blood pressure and used a C-Pap for sleep apnea. I was moving toward diabetes, but was not there yet. My joints, however, were horrible. I could not walk for more than a few minutes at a time due to knee pain. I saw a chiropractor weekly to manage my knee and back pain. Today I am at my goal weight - 127 pounds - that's 205 pounds lost!. I have a NORMAL BMI. I have never in my life woke up in the morning without the thought of how am I going to lose weight today. It is so very strange to be on maintenance! My RNY has been a nothing short of a miracle. I have tons of energy. I belong to the YMCA where I do Zumba, TurboKick, and BodyPump classes. I use the treadmill and elliptical trainer. I have absolutely no joint pain at all. My family traveled to the Black Hills of South Dakota over the Independence Day Holiday and we climbed to the top of Harney's Peak - the highest elevation East of the Rocky Mountains. I AM LIVING MY LIFE!! I am no longer watching from the sidelines as my family has fun - I am right there with them. It has taken hard work, dedication, and determination. I won't say that it was easy - and I still struggle with my relationship with food. But living life in this body is SO much better that I am determined to NEVER go back to the prison my obese body was before. If I can do this, anybody can!! Reach out for support here. There are terrific people here that helped me when I needed it. We are here for you!! Carol

Since it seems that you have a long term relationship with this doctor, I would discuss your financial concerns with him. Perhaps he can recommend somebody that will accept your insurance or give you a break on what he is charging you. It may also be a good time to make a change since he normally works with youth and it sounds like you may have outgrown him. It is always uncomfortable to discuss money, but often times health care professionals are willing to work with their patients in order to keep them. As a long time patient and one that he has helped substantially, he may very well be able to do something for you to keep his services affordable. Its worth a try... Carol

My Husband's 90 year old Grandmother's favorite saying was "Its a Great Life if you don't weaken". You will get through this too - and come out the other side healthier and stronger for it. I too hope you will be able to find your way back to school. It is so important that we fight for our dreams! I'm pulling for you!! Carol

You need to be careful with fruit and strawberries in particular following surgery. They were on my 'do not eat list' for the first three months due to the skins and seeds. I was told not to eat any fruit with seeds or skins - no grapes (unless pealed), no cherries - even in yogurt, and my clinic was emphatic about no strawberries due to the seeds. I did eat blueberries but for those first months stuck primarily to canned fruit and applesauce. Carol

Hi RJ, I am having the same problem - and on maintenance now, I am terrified I will weaken and will start to regain. So far, I have upped my water intake. If I am drinking, I am not eating. I have also been doing anything I can just to stay as busy as possible during those times that I know I am at my weakest (like a couple hours before a meal). I plan a walk, last night I did all my ironing, I have cleaned the bathroom, anything to keep me busy for that hour so I don't think about food - and I stay as far away from the kitchen as possible. Weekend afternoon are the worst for me. For a long time getting into a good book helped, but I am finding that even my favorite authors don't seem to hold my attention like they use to, I need to be more active. TV is horrible because all I see are the food commercials! Its a minefield (or mindfield?). It will be interesting to see how others are dealing with it! You are one of the most level headed guys I have met on here. You will figure this out for yourself. Perhaps you can plan a healthy snack during the worst times, I usually know when its going to be at it worst. I know that I fear that snacking will just pull me back into bad habits and I don't want that, so I have been avoiding doing that. I don't know if anything there was helpful, but know that I am pulling for us (and me too!) to figure this out. The body has shrunk, I am hoping that with time the brain will too!! Carol

CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is a MAJOR accomplishment and one you should reward yourself for. The pendant is a great idea, I had a mani / pedi. Do something to mark this day though. It takes work and dedication to make this work and you are doing great!! Keep it up Slim!! Carol